


you’ll bring me home

by sond_sie



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: 5 Times, Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, im so soft for their little family, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21652585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sond_sie/pseuds/sond_sie
Summary: 5 times lexi is grateful for callum + 1 time callum is especially grateful for her.
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway & Lexi Mitchell, Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Kudos: 118





	you’ll bring me home

**Author's Note:**

> lexi is precious and i can't wait for more callum/lexi scenes !!!
> 
> title from sweet creature by harry styles

1.

ben knows as soon as he wakes up that today is going to be _shit_. there's a dull ache behind his eyes, which only worsens as he sits up and groans. fumbling for his glasses, he coughs, immediately cringing at the sharp pain in his throat. 

“great,” he mutters to himself, slipping some sweats and a t-shirt on before placing his hearing aid in. he’s learnt that lexi doesn’t appreciate him not hearing her the first time. when he reaches the bottom step he’s met with a sight as miserable as he feels. lexi is curled up next to lola on the couch underneath a blanket, face pale. 

“what’s wrong, baby?” he asks, running a hand softly through his daughter’s hair. she coughs, shuffling further under lola’s arm.

“she’s sick, the flu or something. i’ll take the day off,” lola supplies with a huff. 

“she’s not the only one,” ben replies, falling onto the couch beside lexi. he rests his head back on the cushion and shuts his eyes to reduce the pain. 

“oh perfect!” lola exclaims, standing up and disturbing them both. ben manoeuvres lexi until her head is on his lap and she settles with a small wheeze. “you can stay home with her and i’ll go to work.” 

ben can’t muster up the energy to protest, or argue that he’s in no state to be looking after someone else, and before he knows it lola’s out the door and it’s just him and lexi. 

“daddy?” she rasps. 

“yes princess?” 

“can you make me feel better?” 

ben sighs internally and musters up all the strength he has to comfort his little girl.

“of course, baby. you stay right here and i’ll go and find some medicine.” _for us both_ , he thinks. she pouts, but lets him stand. ben startles when he sees himself in the bathroom mirror. he looks _awful_. his glasses can’t hide the dark bags under his eyes, or the sickly pale face that copies his daughter’s. he rifles through the cabinets, pulling out the cough syrup and panadol. ben groans when he realises that there’s only enough left for one person. returning to the lounge, he eventually coaxes lexi into swallowing the syrup she hates so much. with the last of his energy he puts on one of her favourite movies and collapses back on the couch, exhausted. lexi curls up beside him, resting her head on his chest, and before he knows it he’s falling asleep to the sound of elsa from frozen’s singing. 

“daaad,” lexi drawls, snapping him back to consciousness. “‘m hungry.”

ben honestly doesn’t think he can make it to the kitchen, let alone cook something for her. every single part of his body feels like it’s being weighed down, and the pain in his head has only gotten worse since this morning. he reaches for his phone, ready to call lola to come back, or maybe his mum, when he realises he left it upstairs. he sighs, rubbing a hand over his eyes to fight off frustrated tears. he’s never coped well with being sick, feeling so weak and hopeless.

to his surprise the back door suddenly opens, and to his absolute relief callum enters the lounge room. he’s smiling, but when he looks at them properly he frowns, squinting. 

“are you alright?” he asks. 

“sick day,” ben croaks. callum makes a soft noise and walks towards them, running a hand through lexi’s hair and then ben’s. 

“i thought something was up when you weren’t answering my texts,” callum says, continuing to caress his hand through ben’s hair. it soothes his headache. 

“dad!” lexi huffs. god knows she hates repeating herself, so ben sighs. 

“yes, baby. i’ll fix you up some lunch,” he replies tiredly. before he even stands, callum presses a hand down on his shoulder firmly. 

“i can do it. you two just rest up.” he smiles warmly down at his boyfriend. ben grips callum’s hand in his own and squeezes it gratefully.

“thanks, babe,” ben whispers, closing his eyes once more. satisfied, lexi continues watching the movie quietly. she must really be sick, ben thinks as he drifts off, as she’d usually be all over callum, asking him to play with her or to help him cook. 

by the time ben wakes up again, lexi’s eaten the soup callum made them and they’re setting up for a tea party on the living room floor. she’s feeling a lot better, and she notices that her daddy looks much better than he did this morning too. she watches as he sits up and rubs his eyes, and giggles when he squints, looking for his glasses that cal had gently taken off while he was asleep. he hands them back to ben now, and they smile softly at each other. she’s never seen someone look after her daddy when he was sick before, and she’s glad that callum’s here because she knows that he makes him happier. and his soup tastes a lot better than ben’s, too. 

2.

lexi’s mum and dad are always winding each other up. she’s become very used to their banter by now, and has even tried it herself once or twice. but after the glare she received from lola after poking fun at her for the first time she’s decided to mostly stay out of it. sometimes though, ben gets angry after lola teases him and he leaves the house. and other times, she’s noticed that he looks sad and sort of shuts down afterwards. 

this is why she watches on warily as her dad and cal begin to tease each other as they all walk home from school together. she doesn’t know what they’re talking about, only catching something about a blue uniform. she loves when callum joins them, because it usually means they can team up and convince ben to get ice creams. however, she waits in apprehension for her dad to get mad and walk off now. she startles when she hears him laugh loudly instead, and glances up from in between them to see him throw his head back and grin. callum chuckles too, poking ben in the side above lexi’s head, who flinches but laughs again. she’s not used to seeing her daddy look so light and _happy_ , especially when someone’s teasing him. she can’t help but join in laughing too, and squeals when ben picks her up and swings her around.

3.

ben’s having a _day_ already, and it’s barely eight am. he’d tossed and turned all night, unable to shake the conversation with phil from the day before from his mind. his dad had asked him to help with another one of his dodgy business plans, had spouted a whole lot about how much ben owed him, how he couldn’t let the family down. he doesn’t want to disappoint his father, but he’s been trying to distance himself from it all since callum helped him realise he could be better than that. for himself, for their relationship and for lexi. they’re his real family.

so, he’s in a bad mood. he just wants to get on with his day, distract himself with work until he has to face the problem later. unfortunately for him, lexi is making this difficult. she’s roped callum into playing princesses, _again_ , and he’s currently chasing her around the room while she shrieks. 

“lexi- go and get ready for school please,” he says, exasperated. callum stops playing with her and she frowns. “i already asked you once, now go.” 

she opens her mouth to argue, and ben snaps. 

“go! and do not give me lip madam!” he yells, pointing a finger in her direction. her mouth snaps shut and she rushes upstairs. callum’s frowning now too, and he looks at ben with something like disappointment on his face.

“don’t take it out on lex, ben. it’s my fault she was distracted,” he says. ben sighs, rubbing his palms over his face frustratedly.

“thanks for the parenting advice,” he mutters. it’s a low blow considering callum’s become just as much a parent to lexi as ben or lola over the past year. callum just shakes his head, moving past ben and following where lexi disappeared to a moment ago. he pushes her door open gently, and isn’t surprised to find her crying as she tries to tie a shoelace.

“hey sweetheart,” callum says softly, kneeling down to tie it for her. when he’s done he lifts a hand and wipes away her tears. her and ben look the same when they cry, and it pinches at his heart. he pulls her in and hugs her tightly until she stops sniffling. 

“daddy is mad at me,” she says when he lets her go. he tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.

“it’s not your fault, sweetheart. he didn’t mean to yell at you, he’s just having a bad day. he loves you more than anything else in the world, don’t he?” 

lexi smiles and nods. “even more than you?” she asks, peering at him with her big blue eyes. ben’s eyes. 

“even me,” he replies with a laugh. there’s a soft knock on the door and ben enters, looking sheepish. callum stands and ben takes his spot, leaning down and scooping lexi into his arms.

“i’m sorry, baby. i shouldn’t have yelled at ya,” he says quietly. lexi wriggles out of his arms and grins mischievously.

“if you take me to the park after school i miiight forgive you,” she replies cheekily and ben laughs. 

“such a mitchell,” he mutters. “only if you go and put your coat on for me now, please.”

lexi skips out of the room happily, as if nothing has happened. ben turns to callum, but before he can say anything callum’s tucking him into his chest, arms wrapped securely around him. 

“we’ll figure this out, babe. you don’t have to prove yourself to him anymore.” ben sighs again, and callum places a hand on his cheek, tilting his head up to press their lips together sweetly.

“i love you, yeah? and so does lex, we’re always on your side.”

and with that, ben lets himself think, if only for this moment, that maybe this time he won’t care what his dad thinks of him. 

4.

they’re all having dinner at nanna kathy’s, but ben hasn’t showed up yet and nobody knows where he is. lexi’s hungry, so they start without him. it’s only when she’s halfway through dessert that he finally turns up. callum’s been worried sick, she could tell, and he’s the first one to stand when they all hear the door open. she spins around when she hears callum's distressed tone. “what happened?”

ben glances quickly around the room, between jay, lola, ian, bobby and then at lexi. she sees that his face is bruised, one of his eyes swelling up below a bloody cut on his brow. it’s not the first time she’s seen him look like this, probably not even the tenth time. but it’s been almost two years since the last time it was this bad, ever since he started dating callum. she used to worry sometimes when she’d catch him cringing in pain or clutching at his ribs. she’s worried now. 

“i’m fine, okay, not the first time someone’s had a go,” he says to everyone. “i’d just like to go home now,” he adds more quietly, looking at callum. 

“okay,” callum replies uncertainly. it’s their night to have lexi, so she hops up to follow them out. 

“wait, lex,” her mum calls, looking at ben and callum. 

“what?” ben asks. he steps towards lexi and takes her hand. if the situation was different she’d roll her eyes at him and say she’s nine now, she’s _too old_ to hold her dad’s hand. “i’m _fine_ lo. you two have fun,” he smiles at her and his brother before turning to leave. they shuffle out of the house and begin the walk back to their flat. lexi can tell that callum wants to ask a million questions but he’s holding back because of her. she tightens her hold on ben’s hand, only letting go once they reach their front door. as soon as they’re inside, callum’s seeking out the first aid kit. ben flops down onto the couch and winces. lexi puts the kettle on and sits down next to him. 

“are you sure you’re okay dad?”

“yes, baby. i was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. nothing to worry about,” he reassures his daughter, sliding an arm around her shoulder and squeezing. callum returns and begins cleaning the blood from ben’s eyebrow, sitting across from him. lexi’s glad that he’s so understanding, and so patient. if jay came home like that she’s sure that her mum would make him sleep on the street. when callum frowns and carefully caresses ben’s bruised cheek her dad smirks.

“you gonna kiss it better?” callum huffs and blushes slightly, and lexi feels like she’s missing something. but then callum does, taking ben’s face so gently into his palms and fluttering his lips over ben’s bruised skin. ben’s eyes close as he sinks into callum’s touch and it’s then that lexi knows they’re all going to be just fine.

5.

it’s callum who suggests that ben and jay go out for a boys day and lola have a girls day with her friends while he spends time with lexi. it doesn't take much convincing, and now here he is with lexi making a list of all the things they want to do today. she insists that they go see the latest marvel movie, and she’s also been dying to go back to the aquarium for weeks now. ever since their first visit she’s been set on learning more, explaining to anyone who will listen that she’s going to be a marine biologist when she's older. callum finds it adorable, and he’s happy to entertain her current passion. when they finally make it home again they begin the last activity on the list, baking cupcakes.

lexi’s actually pretty good in the kitchen now, thanks to callum. ben’s getting better too, but they both prefer callum’s cooking to anyone else’s. they put on music that ben hates, mainly little mix, and dance around like idiots while spilling ingredients everywhere. lexi’s sides hurt from laughing so hard. 

“hey, lex?” callum asks once the cupcakes are in the oven. 

“yes cal?” she replies, wiping her hands on her apron. 

“i’ve got something important i want to ask you,” he says nervously. she stares up at him, smiling encouragingly. 

“what is it?”

“i was wondering what you would think of me…asking your dad to marry me?” 

lexi gasps, grin breaking out on her face. then she squeals, launching herself into callum’s arms who catches her with a grunt. lexi wouldn’t usually be caught dead being picked up by her parents anymore, the independent young lady she is. and the truth is, callum’s the only one tall enough to be able to anymore anyway, which makes her a bit sad. 

she flings her arms around his neck and hugs him tightly, feeling his arms squeeze around her back in return. 

“you haven’t said anything,” callum says, but he’s smiling. 

“what- did you think i’d kick off?” lexi laughs. “of course i want you to get married. you’ve always been like another dad to me, taking care of me and doing fun stuff like this. and you make dad happier than anything else in the world. well, except me.”

lexi’s grinning, and callum places her back down on the ground so he can wipe his eye. 

lexi groans, “please don’t cry. dad already does enough for all of us every movie night. he’s going to _die_ when you propose.” 

callum laughs wetly, trying to stop the tears. he never thought he’d have a real, proper family like this. and to know that lexi wants him as her family just as much as he does her fills him with a light-hearted happiness he’s never experienced before. it’s acceptance, and belonging, and _love_ , all in one. it’s not long until lexi is prattling on about the dress she’ll wear, and the flowers they’ll use and who will have what role in the wedding, and all he can do is smile. 

+1

“you’re weak.”

there’s that voice- the one he’s been trying to escape from for years. ever since he was a child.

“you’re pathetic. you’re worthless. you can’t do anything right.” 

ben tries to get get away, but he’s stuck in place and his legs won’t move. 

“everyone you love will leave you when they realise just how weak you really are,” the voice continues. ben whimpers, feeling just as helpless as he did when he was a small boy in the middle of the night. 

“did you really think that someone like callum,” ben’s breath hitches at the mention of his husband’s name, “would stay with someone as messed up as _you_.”

“no, no, stop,” ben repeats, hushed. suddenly the voice is gone and instead a figure begins approaching him. he tries to close his eyes but he can’t and he’s forced to watch as it comes closer. when he can finally see who it is his whole body shudders. it’s _her_. stella. she reaches out towards him but he jerks back and yells, “NO!”

he jolts awake forcefully and sits up quickly. he’s breathing heavily and he thinks he might be crying, and he can’t hear anything over the rush of blood in his ears. beside him, callum reaches a hand out to place on his back, but he flinches at the touch so callum pulls it back.

“ben?” he asks, scared. he'd woken up to ben writhing underneath the sheets, and watched in terror as he started crying and mumbling pleas for help. he had tried to shake him awake but nothing worked. he had to wait helplessly until ben woke himself up with a shout. he doesn’t know what to do, how to comfort him, this has never happened before. ben’s still sobbing, and he won’t let callum touch him. 

their bedroom door creaks open and lexi slowly walks in, eyes wide as she looks at her father. she glances at callum, who must look as lost as he feels, as she makes her way over to them. ben’s breathing is erratic, but he raises his head from his hands as he feels lexi crawl in between him and callum. she cuddles into his side, laying her head on his shoulder. callum watches in wonder as ben finally starts to calm down, coming out of his daze. eventually he carefully pulls lexi into his lap and holds her close. 

lexi is ten now, the age he was when he came back from south africa to live in walford, when he started being abused by his father’s girlfriend. the only thing that can comfort ben when he’s caught up thinking about his childhood is the knowledge that his daughter will never experience the pain he has. he has control over how she's being raised, and he will never let anything bad happen to her. he kisses her head, breathing finally steady once more. 

callum feels himself relax as he watches their interaction. there have been many times when ben and callum have helped, comforted or protected the other. but sometimes it’s lexi who so effortlessly makes everything better. her unconditional love and devotion to them, her silly jokes and her innocent nature warms their hearts and reminds them of the all the good in their lives. he’s beyond grateful that ben has lexi, someone who has always seen the best in him and also brought out the best in him. he quickly wipes away a tear and shuffles closer to them, winding an arm around ben’s waist and running a hand through lexi’s blonde locks. as long as they all have each other, their own little family, they’re going to be okay. 


End file.
